Running a home cleaning service can be a lucrative venture, if you take the time to plan correctly and follow some smart guidelines. It’s one enterprise that can be started with a relatively small financial commitment and that can be grown successfully over time as you build a customer base.

Why this Business

Of course, the first thing that you want to do when you are considering running a home cleaning service is assess your reasons. Do you have a knack for cleaning efficiently, and actually enjoy doing it? Are you good at cleaning and want to make money while still being able to have flexible hours? Do you have a friend in the business and you think you’d like to do what they do? Be honest with yourself about your reasons, and make sure that you want to invest your time and your money in it before jumping in.

The Planning Stage

If you’ve decided that you definitely want to run an enterprise, your next step is to do some planning. Planning is crucial for success in a business, and though you may be eager to simply get started, your first task should be done on paper. Make a list of everything that you need to do, such as “set fees”, “choose supplier”, “stock supplies”, “create customer contract”, “licensing and insurance”. After everything is on paper, start going down the list and checking things offs as you complete them.

Preparation and Opening

After you’ve gathered your inventory of equipment and initial supplies, the next thing that you want to do is prepare for the opening of your venture. These days, it’s almost essential that you have a website, so creating one should probably be on your initial planning list. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, but it should be pleasant to look at, and should highlight the positive things about your business and list things that customers want to know about right away when searching for a home cleaning service.

Now is the time to set up your advertising plan too, including online marketing, posting flyers around town, and placing ads in the local papers. Offering discounts for first-time customers is always a good idea, and a great way to show people what you can do. Plan right, and the start of your business should go well.

Running your own enterprise can be a great way to make a full-time living while still being your own boss. Plan carefully, try to stay abreast of what customers want, and always go the extra step to make your customers happy.

Spring cleaning has come and gone but for many of us who live the way of the procrastinator, spring cleaning extends to whatever season in which we get around to it. When we do finally come to the point where we just cannot take how dirty and messy the house looks we want to make sure that we can clean it and be done with it as fast as possible. Here are seven home cleaning tips anyone can use to make their cleaning a little less painful.

1.) Next time you clean be sure to carry around a few microfiber cloths with you. These handy little cloths are great at getting dust and particles up quick and easy. The static electricity generated when using these cloths attract all the dust and when you combine it with water it really gets the job done well. Oh yeah, when you are done just throw these little guys in the wash and they’ll be ready to use for the next clean.

2.) Get all the streaks off your your windows and glass with newspaper and Windex! It sounds crazy but newspaper and Windex work like a charm. If you choose to use a non-ammonia cleaner try lemon water.

3.) You can use the dishwasher to clean things other than dishes. Go ahead and throw those dirty light fixtures, refrigerator drawers, air ducts, and even some window blinds in your dishwasher. It sure beats hand cleaning them!

4.) Gum in your carpet? No problem! Use a piece of ice and freeze it as best as possible, then use a dull knife blade to pry it right off.

5.) Get the whole family involved! There is no reason you should be cleaning the house yourself when everybody in the house is responsible for the mess. Teach them these cleaning tips as well and your house will be spick and span in no time at all!

6.) That old toothbrush can finally be used for something rather than just taking up cabinet space. Use it to clean the stains around your sink faucet and to get to spots that your hands and fingers can’t get to.

7.) The last but not least helpful home cleaning tip is how to get rid of those awful odors that have been lingering for months. Take some vinegar and pour it into a bowl. Let the bowl of vinegar sit overnight wherever it stinks and it should rid that room of it’s ugly odors.

Use these seven home cleaning tips early and often next time you go to clean your house. Anything that speeds your house cleaning time up will most definitely make you a happier person.

Having your home cleaned by someone else can be a luxury to anyone, but having it done when you move into a brand new home and leave your old one can save you many hours of cleaning that you really don’t want to take part in.

House cleaning can range from many various options, whether it’s a basic clean of your home or everything imaginable being cleaned. It will vary on what you select and the cost of the cleaning services.

It can be difficult determining whether you should or should not utilize house cleaning services over doing it yourself, and many feel that it can be a waste of money having someone else clean their home. In the end there are many pros and cons to having someone clean your home for you. When you don’t seem to have the time to clean your home you can find yourself getting frustrated.

One major time that it can be difficult to get your home clean is after you are moving. Usually when a house is sold it’s required to be cleaned for the next home owners. After you’ve just moved to a new home though one of the last things on your mind is having to clean the house you just left, so why not have someone else do it for you? Instead of wasting more time in a house that is no longer yours have a house cleaning company do it for you.

This is the same for when you are moving into a home that doesn’t seem to be overly clean and the previous owners didn’t take the time to clean the house. It can be quite frustrating to have to move into a home that is not yet clean, so having a house cleaning company do it for you can be less frustrating and allow you to move into a home that’s spotless.

When it comes to house cleaning services not all offer the same type of services. Some only do certain cleaning and others offer others. This will require you to do some research on your local cleaning services to find exactly what you need. Home cleaning services can be quite beneficial for those with little time to spare.

As you can see there are many benefits to having someone else clean your home, but if you are worried that they are not going to do it the exact way you want it give the cleaners a list of some things that they may not do. Do interviews with the companies and ask as many questions possible. You must remember they are going to be cleaning your home and if they can’t live up to your expectations then it’s just going to be a waste of time for everyone. Don’t find yourself wasting money with a house cleaning company that doesn’t do what you want, find the perfect one and you’ll be happy with the results and not be redoing things yourself. Remember it is your home; you live in it, not them.

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Few people enjoy living in a dirty and disorganized home. While keeping a home clean, hygienic and tidy is challenging it needs to be done. Cleaning can at times be an overwhelming task and maintaining a home that is spotless can often seem impossible. However, if left a dirty home may become an insurmountable task which is able to discourage even the most enthusiastic among us. It takes an organized effort to transform a home from messy and dirty to clean and organized. The following is a home cleaning guide to help with the tackling of the task.

Organization is the key

Get organized before you start the task of cleaning. Clear away the debris and sort things into their proper places. Pick up the clutter, throw away rubbish and store what needs to be stored. Clear surfaces and floors in anticipation of what is to come. Tidying up alone can sap you of energy so be sure that you approach it in a relaxed manner. Put your favourite music on and dress in old and comfortable clothes. Allocate yourself time to accomplish your task without having to rush and watch the clock. If needed arrange to have a take-out food delivered or stock the fridge with a few delicacies. Keep plenty of water on hand and don’t punish yourself.

Before you begin the great tidy up you need to have nearby a few garbage bags and a few storage containers. As you tidy it will be easy to find a place to put those things you aren’t sure about. Keep your storage containers to a minimum of about three. One will be for items you need to keep, one is for items you will be donating and the last is for items you wish to relocate to other areas of your home. Complete one room at a time before moving to the next. Start with your main living areas first as this will give you the incentive to keep going.

Don’t punish yourself. Organizing your home is the first and the most important step on the ladder to a clean and comfortable home. Take the time you need and make sure that your task is accomplished effectively.

Home cleaning tips

Apart from organizing your living spaces, clearing away the clutter will help speed up your cleaning time. Having to stop every few seconds to move or pick up something will slow you down. At the end of your cleaning if your home is clean but still messy and untidy you won’t feel the benefits or sacrifices you have put into cleaning.

Before you begin cleaning, gather together all the cleaning supplies you will need. Keep them in a bin or bucket, or create an apron with pockets that will not only serve to protect your clothes, but will ensure that wherever you are cleaning you will be fully prepared. In this bin or apron you will need to keep dusters, rags, window cleaner, furniture polish, anti-bacterial sprays, detergents, garbage bags and carpet cleaner. You will also need a bucket, mop and vacuum cleaner.

Establish a strategy

Cleaning effectively relies not only on the correct cleaning supplies but also on a well planned methodology. It is recommended that you completely clean one room at a time before moving to the next.

Start from the back rooms so that you don’t tramp dirt or dust through your newly cleaned rooms. The strategy many professional cleaners employ is from top to bottom and in a circular pattern. Start with ceilings using a damp cloth or duster to clean away dust and cobwebs. Move onto the walls and then windows. After this you can concentrate on furniture or counter tops, bookshelves and desks before moving onto the floor.

This strategy will not only save you time but once a room has been completed it will give you the incentive to move onto the next.

A dirty and disorganized home has the ability to change your mood and your lifestyle. A dirty home can breed viruses and bacteria and can be a health hazard to all who live or enter it.

Once you have cleared away the clutter you can arrange a schedule that suits your lifestyle. We all want a clean home and cleaning your home is about nothing more than consistency, commitment and pride.

Keeping a clean and organized home is not difficult. It does however require a fair amount of commitment and consistency. A dirty home if left to fester soon becomes very difficult to clean. Before long you aren’t inviting friends over and at the end of a long day you are starting to dread the journey home.

Cleaning can test even the most enthusiastic amongst us, yet it is necessary for mental and physical health. However there are a few basic rules that can make the chore of cleaning one that is more easily attainable.

Get home organized
First cleaning relies on organization. A tidy home is easier to clean. Often we will turn away from cleaning due to the fact that we have clutter lying around. If you want a clean home you need to declutter on a regular basis.

On a daily basis pick up items, put them into their correct places, into storage or throw them away.

Organized cleaning
It is almost impossible to properly clean if your home is totally disorganized. Unfortunately even if you clean and dust under piles of clutter you won’t achieve the benefits. Apart from that, clutter will increase your cleaning time.

If you are tackling a large cleaning job, take your time. Ensure that you conserve your energy and comfort levels. Being rushed or straining yourself will result in a poor effort and a partially cleaned home. Once you have picked up the clutter, it is easy to maintain a clean home and this will open the doors to setting up a cleaning strategy that will work for you.

You will need to consistently adhere to this strategy. Professional cleaners work within a strategy that works for them. While you may want to follow their cleaning methods you need to adapt it to suit your lifestyle.

Completely clean one room at a time before moving onto the next. While you are cleaning make sure that you have all the necessary supplies you need close by at all times. Work around the room according to a certain pattern in order to ensure that you either don’t leave any areas out or that you don’t clean what has already been done.

Approaching cleaning in this manner will not only make the chore easier, but will save you time that is it will make the cleaning faster.

Summary

Your cleaning strategy should incorporate:

Organizing your home
Decluttering your home
Ensuring that you have the necessary cleaning supplies close at hand and
Putting a cleaning strategy into place

With this said it is not difficult to keep your home clean. The benefits of a clean home are far reaching from both a mental, social and health points of view. A dirty home not only may become a serious health hazard it also has the ability to impede your lifestyle while a clean and organized home has the exact opposite effect.

Home cleaning is a must for every home. We either do it ourselves or we hire someone to do the cleaning. It would be more simple if we hire someone to do the cleaning job. In such situation, the first thing to do is to determine what are the areas you want to clean and estimate how much time you will need. Then work out the cleaning budget. You can check out the average cleaning rate with reference to the local newspapers. You can also search the internet for relevant information. Interview the cleaning experts to find out in details pertaining to their cleaning services then get quotes regarding cost and what items are covered by the service contract and what are not covered. It is important to know how they do the cleaning job. What detergents are used? Are they safe for home use? How long the cleaning experts have be in business? It is always advisable to get reference for their services.

If you are going to do the cleaning yourself, it needs some planning before you start. Time is the most important factor. How much time is required for the job? How many persons will be involved? What we need to clean? With what detergents. These questions need to be answered. If we have very limited time, very little man-power, then the only way is to divide the job into smaller tasks and do one at a time. If we have limited time, but have plenty of man-power, may be we can have the job done pretty fast. It would be ideal if we have lot of time and plenty of man-power.

In most cases, there is little time and few man-power. Then, do one task at a time and work out the schedule that fit your own timetable.

Let us start cleaning one bedroom first.

First thing first. It is tidying up. Put all smaller items into cabinets and storage. Protect the bed with its cover from dust. Move out some big items from the bedroom if necessary. Your cleaning time is better structured by tidying the room first. In this way you are using your energy to complete the hardest part first rather then running out of steam halfway through the cleaning job.

The next thing that will make your cleaning more organized is to gather you cleaning detergents. You may want to get a bin that you can place the cleaning products in so it is easier to carry them around with you. A few cleaning products that you may use are glass cleaner, furniture polish, rags, antibacterial spray, and carpet cleaner and re-freshener. You can also carry around a small garbage bag around with you instead of running back and forth. Use the right cleaning supplies that will get the job done. It is a waste of time trying to clean a dirty spot with an inferior product. You will spend too much for your time re-cleaning the thing that did not get properly clean the first time.

Start cleaning from top to bottom. That is from the ceiling. Check out is there any spider webs at the ceiling corners. Clean windows from top to bottom with glass cleaner. Then, dust off and clean the tall cabinet tops.. clean and polish the low cabinet, tv set, radio, coffee table, etc, We finish the top now the bottom. It is the floor. Vacuum then clean the floor with carpet cleaner as you see appropriate. This part of the cleaning may be the most strenuous. With this top to bottom approach, we eliminates the possibility of getting the floor dirty again by falling dust. Now you have cleaned one room and you get a good feeling of accomplishment. In this way, cleaning one room in a time will save time and energy.

A clean house is nice to live in and people stay healthy. When you walk into someone’s home it is the first thing that you notice. And it’s also the first thing other people notice about your home when they walk in. A dirty home is very likely to cause illness to those who live in it. By keeping your house clean, you give your family a sweet and healthy home.

In starting this business you must set your mind on how you can give good service to your clients. You have to follow rules and regulation in your community regarding on home cleaning service. You must be familiar with cleaning material. You could also use networking with other business people. They can give you advice and service you need.

Make price list of your services. You must know whether you charge them by area or by the service you render. Give quotations to your prospective client so they have idea on how much you charge for your home cleaning service. Get insurance for your home cleaning service and license to operate a business.

List down the types of home cleaning service you will offer. Or you might specialize in carpet cleaning. You could offer them vacuum, dusting, floor polishing, window cleaning or even fixing the beds. There are lots of home cleaning services you can offer. Or you may ask your client what specific kind of home cleaning he/she wants. You could either offer them laundry service, if your clients are busy persons and no time for house hold chores.

In opening this home cleaning service, you don’t need big capital in starting this business. But if you need to buy equipment for carpet drying or any other equipments or tools you will use, you can approach any lending institution for additional funds for your home cleaning services. Things you need for cleaning are sponges, brush, mops, and cleaning solvent.

Select a name of your home cleaning service that can be easily be remembered. You need to advertise and promote your business. Advertise it in the yellow page, local newspaper, radio station, word of mouth or even on the internet. Post it in any website and you will pay for a certain affordable fee.

Make promotional discount or offer freebies and scheme, so to compete with your competitor. Give discounts to your customers or offer them for the price of one if they will get two session of floor polishing. This home cleaning service is in demand; most people don’t have time to clean their home because of their jobs or even lifestyle.

Your home cleaning will succeed if you give your clients good quality service. They will surely hire your service again if they are fully satisfied with the service you made. The more clients you satisfy with your home cleaning service the more profit you will gain. And for sure they will recommend your service to their friends, and relatives or even co-worker.

When I was young, people used to tell me that cleanliness was next to godliness. I suspect that when the phrase was used in a sermon by John Wesley in 1791 it was referring to the cleanliness of the mind and not a person’s body or surroundings. But people still promote cleanliness as being important and especially around the home.

Working in the cleaning industry for nearly 20 years has given me the chance to see inside many people’s homes. I have seen properties so clean that you feel scared to walk into the place and the complete opposite where it is difficult to find a path through the rooms.

I will admit that the people who live amongst the clutter are embarrassed to show me around, but they are quite happy to live in those conditions. I don’t believe these people are lazy and don’t clean, because their kitchens and bathrooms are not filthy. They clean the areas where hygiene is necessary, but are hoarders and cannot discern what should and should not be thrown away.

In the meticulous house where everything sits in its prescribed place the home owner is a person who can’t stand living in a mess. This doesn’t make them a better cleaner than they person who lives amongst clutter, it just means they work harder at keeping their home clean.

Now of course these two scenarios I have described are the extremes. Most people survive happily somewhere in between, and plod along trying to keep their home in a reasonably clean condition. Some will ritually clean every week, others will do it when they can’t stand the dust and dirt any more. But what is the happy medium and how often should you clean?

A lot of the answer to this question depends on where you live. Should you live in a city near a main road, or in the country where there is a lot of dust you will find that your home will require dusting more often than if you live near a forest or a river. There will always be a need to dust, because fine particles of pollen and soil float in the air and eventually settle. I have found over the years that after around ten days you start to see the dust on the furniture, and especially the shiny surfaces. So dusting if probably only required once a fortnight.

When it comes to bathrooms and kitchens it is a different matter. Cleaning in these areas are more for hygiene reasons than aesthetics.

With the kitchen the bench tops, stove and sink need to be cleaned at least once a day to stop contamination. A good quality cleanser is all that is needed. Even a wipe over with detergent and hot water is enough, providing it is done each day. All you are doing is removing any left over bacteria that could contaminate the next meal during preparation, so cleaning with an antiseptic is an overkill. It is wise to clean cupboard fronts and backsplashes around the sink and stove top at least once a week. This will not only make the kitchen look cleaner it will stop the build up of dirt in those areas.

Everyone believes that bathrooms are unhygienic. Actually this is not the case. Because you are cleaning yourself in that room the cleansers you use keep most of the area clean. But there is a build up of the soap and that does need removing. Also the warmth and moisture is a perfect breeding ground for mould so regular cleaning helps control that. Bacteria do build up in the toilet bowl and that is due to the stagnant water sitting there. A couple of drops of a good quality cleanser and brushed around inside the bowl at least twice a week will keep the area fresh.

The main problem in a bathroom is dust. Generated from the towels as you dry yourself it sticks to the surfaces covered with moisture created by the condensation. This means a regularly weekly or even fortnightly rub over with a spray and wipe over cleanser and cloth of the tiles and the outside of the toilet will keep down the dust and make the bathroom sparkle.

Baths, sinks and showers should be cleaned thoroughly at least once a week. The build up of soap needs to be removed. A good cream cleanser wiped over the surfaces will lift the offending scum and grime. With both the bath and sink there can be a dirt line called tide mark, if not removed regularly this line can become very noticeable.

The floors throughout the house need to be vacuumed regularly. The reason behind this is more than removing the dust that floats down and settles into carpets or sits on the hard floors. Vacuuming the floor helps remove lice eggs. Before the regular use of vacuum cleaners, houses were constantly plagued with fleas, especially when there were animals on the property. The strength of the vacuum cleaner has stopped the infestations by removing the flea larvae. If a house is not vacuumed regularly the larvae will sit and wait until the right temperature and movement in the house to mature. A regular fortnightly vacuum of a home is mandatory.

So there you have it. Is home cleaning absolutely necessary? Yes, but how often is purely up to you. I always recommend that a tidy home looks clean, but a regular clean will not only make you feel more comfortable it will also help you enjoy your property.

I hope you found this article interesting. My name is Julie Finch-Scally and I am the franchisor and founder of The Duster Dollies. The Duster Dollies is a cleaning business with a difference. We are booking agencies for domestic cleaning. This means you don’t actually do the cleaning.

A home is a place where you go to rest and relax, kick your shoes off and take the stress away. Well, if your home is a pit it is very difficult to be able to get any rest or relaxation at all because you know darn well you need to clean it. Trust me when I say it is much easier to rest and relax in a house that is clean. Here’s a rundown of some home cleaning solutions to help make the clean job easier and more efficient for you.

Before I clean I like to categorize things as in priority or non-priority. The priority items obviously need to be cleaned now, right away, and the non-priority are things that I can clean in little spurts throughout the rest of the week assuming I wouldn’t have time to do them now.

Things that I consider non-priority would be things like cleaning the shower and cleaning my own room. I know I can probably save time cleaning the shower and clean it when I am actually taking a shower. I may also wait on cleaning my own room seeing how it won’t be seen by visitors and shouldn’t bother anyone else in the house.

The major cleans like vacuuming, sweeping, mopping in the main rooms of the house I consider priority and needs to be done all the time. Cleaning and dusting furniture and making sure the fridge is clean should also be considered priority. Anything that can be considered a health hazard needs to be cleaned pronto! If you have pets I would strongly suggest that you vacuum and clean no less than once a week.

Certainly categorizing your chores can be considered a great home cleaning solution but here are three more home cleaning solutions to give you some real help with troublesome areas in your home.

Get rid of awful odors and fowl smells by using white distilled vinegar in the troubled areas. For really bad areas, pour the vinegar in a bowl in leave it sit over night. This really works and its also good at removing soap and mineral deposits.

Another home cleaning solution is using baking soda as a cleaner. This product can just about do it all. Use it to clean sinks, bathtubs, countertops, and to remove odors as well. Its non-toxic so feel free to use it at will for all your cleaning needs.

The last home cleaning solution secret I want to share with you is to use lemon juice to remove mineral deposits, tarnish and tough grease in the kitchen or garage. Lemon juice is a powerful acidic cleaner and will cost much less than any of the other harmful cleaners you would buy at a store.

I hope this article has provided plenty of insight to home cleaning solutions that will work for you and make your next clean job much safer and much faster so you can then live in a clean and stress free home.

Heart is where the home is. Though every person knows that, we would still like to remind everyone because the above anecdote holds more truth than we can ever imagine. Home is what comes to your mind when you are at work, when you are driving, when you are away at a party with friends and family. No matter where you are, the desire to get back to one’s home is overwhelming in all its persistence, filling you with a sense of euphoria when you finally get home! This goes on to become the main reason why everyone wishes to keep their homes neat and clean, for there is absolutely nothing like a clean and inviting home after a hard day at work! Though house cleaning and the various other processes like dusting, scrubbing, polishing and the like, are really important, they can be quite exhausting, and can tire or bore a person quickly, calling for the support professional cleaning services assistants who can handle all of that, leaving you with enough time to supervise.

When it comes to home cleaning, many household cleaning services often come to the rescue of harassed housewives and househusbands alike, giving them the much needed hand when it comes to scrubbing and tidying up your place of dwelling. As such, though there are many companies that would be more than happy to offer their services, one should still have to exercise a little bit of caution, just to make sure that you get your money’s worth. More often than not, though many professional cleaning services offer to tidy up your place for you, they may not take into consideration many things that might hold a lot of importance for you as the owner of the house. Which again brings us back to square one, as to why and what you should know before calling upon the assistance of professional cleaning services.

The most important thing that one must consider by all means, is the insurance status of the household cleaning services agency that you are planning to hire for your home. Despite the not-so-important appearance that is projected by every company, insurance can be quite the savior when the need arrives for one. Any kind of a home cleaning session is likely to involve a few untoward incidents here and there, that come in the form of minor cuts and bruises, which are bound to happen to anyone, both to you and any other person who is doing the cleaning bit. Though you might choose to ignore these things as a member of the family and as a part of the house, if it were to happen to yourself, the home cleaning company is most likely bound to have a little problem, which can lead to extremely unpleasant situations that can go as far as suing for compensation and benefits.

It is to eliminate the very problem that one will have to a bit of research before hiring an agency. This will not only make sure that you do not put yourself in a spot, but can also bring about the best of support from the professionals, who feel safe too, with the insurance rightly in place.

While this takes care of the home cleaning professionals, there are a few things regarding you that will have to be considered too, to ensure that you or your family will not get affected with the cleaning process. Cleaning up a home, though sounds very common and natural, has a different meaning altogether when the services of the professionals are involved. Since the household cleaning services use a lot of dusting powders and chemicals, you will have to make certain that your family does not react to the allergens, which more than just defeats the whole purpose of hiring professionals to clean up your home, should a member of the family come down with an allergy. Choosing a company that uses HEPA filters is going to work to your advantage, instead the more common filters that can dispel the dust particles. Having said all of that, we leave to you to take the final call on this one, because ultimately, nobody would know your home better than you do!